<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>His Own Kind of Grace by one_more_offbeat_anthem</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25981894">His Own Kind of Grace</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_more_offbeat_anthem/pseuds/one_more_offbeat_anthem'>one_more_offbeat_anthem</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angelic Grace (Supernatural), Cas gets to stay in the bunker, Case Fic, Castiel in the Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Castiel's Angelic Grace (Supernatural), Castiel's Nickname is Cas (Supernatural), Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Castiel/Dean Winchester in the Men of Letters Bunker, Cooking Lessons, Dean Winchester Loves The Impala, Dean Winchester Needs to Use Actual Words, Doctors &amp; Physicians, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Human Castiel in the Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Nurses &amp; Nursing, S9, Sam Winchester is So Done, Season 9, The Impala (Supernatural), nursing home</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:33:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,381</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25981894</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_more_offbeat_anthem/pseuds/one_more_offbeat_anthem</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After Cas becomes human, Dean goes into full “take-care-of-Cas” mode (much to Sam’s annoyance). He takes Cas to the doctor, teaches him to cook, and encourages him to find something to do outside of hunting—so Cas starts volunteering at a nursing home. When a case takes Dean and Sam, disguised as agents, to the very same home, Dean realizes his motivations behind helping Cas….</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel &amp; Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>137</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>His Own Kind of Grace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>the best things the spn fandom has done ever is collectively decide that Dean sending Cas out of the bunker in s9 was shit writing and that Dean is a bottom. So here is Dean not sending Cas away. You may have to read some other fics for Dean being a bottom.</p><p>Also I went to the doctor today so that’s where this fic came from lmao. I don’t like going to the doctor and neither does Cas.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Right from the start I knew</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You'd set a fire in me</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And I'd rather be sad with you</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Than anywhere away from you</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And hey</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I can't believe I captured your heart</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Oh whoa oh</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I can't believe I captured your heart</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If you're lonely lonely lonely wake me</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>—from “Wake Me” by Bleachers</em>
</p><p>
  <em>*************************************************************************************</em>
</p><p>When Cas fell into the bunker (literally, he fell—Dean barely caught him), Dean’s first instinct was to tuck the (now former) angel into bed. His second instinct was to reconvene with Sam in the library to discuss next steps.</p><p>“Here’s the problem,” Dean said, “I want him to stay here, I really do. It’s not safe for us if he stays…but it’s not safe for him if he leaves.” He clutched his head, “I wish there was an easy answer.”</p><p>“Well,” Sam asked, “What do you want, Dean? Let’s start with that.”</p><p>“….I want Cas to be safe.”</p><p>“Then he needs to stay here. He has no experience being a human or taking care of himself. There’s a lot of stuff we just know how to do that he doesn’t.”</p><p>“You’re right.”</p><p>******</p><p>The next morning, when Cas shuffled into the kitchen wearing a pair of Dean’s old pajamas, complete with a ripped Led Zeppelin t-shirt, he threw himself into the chair next to Dean and groaned.</p><p>“What’s wrong, buddy?” Dean asked, setting down the newspaper he was scanning for clues for their current case.</p><p>“Headache,” Cas sighed, burying his head in his arms on the table, “I’ve never had a headache, Dean.”</p><p>“Well, I’ve got something that’ll fix you right up…” Dean stood up, rummaged through one of the cabinets, “Hm…..here. Ibuprofen. Take two of them, okay?”</p><p>“….How?” Cas asked, lifting his head and taking the pills.</p><p>“With water. Lemme get you some.” He handed a glass to Cas, “Don’t—don’t chew them, okay? They’re not food.”</p><p>“Gotcha.”</p><p>“You should have some breakfast, take a shower. I can make you eggs?”</p><p>“Who’s making eggs for who?” Sam asked, stumbling in.</p><p>“I’m making eggs for Cas,” Dean said, “Although I suppose I’ll make you some, too.”</p><p>“Hum.”</p><p>*****</p><p>“Do you really think Cas needs to go to the doctor?” Sam asked Dean later. Dean had cajoled him into helping with the dishes while Cas showered.</p><p>“Uh, yeah,” he replied, “I have a feeling angels don’t become human too often. What if something’s wrong? He was pretty rough when he came in last night.”</p><p>“We’ll have to forge some documents.”</p><p>“Already on it, Sammy.”</p><p>Sam raised an eyebrow, “Is that why you didn’t get much sleep last night?”</p><p>“No comment.”</p><p>
  <em>******</em>
</p><p>“Are they gonna do anything weird?” Cas asked.</p><p>Dean wracked his brain for the last time he had gone to the doctor, “Uh…I don’t think so? Well, it might be weird for you.”</p><p>They were sitting in the waiting room, Cas fidgeting awkwardly. Dean gently put a hand on his arm, “It’ll be alright. It might be strange, but they won’t hurt you.”</p><p>About fifteen minutes later, Dean regretted saying that as Cas nearly cut off the circulation in his hand squeezing it as one of the nurses took blood.</p><p>“Dammit, Cas….sorry, ma’am,” Dean said abruptly to the nurse, “Relax, buddy.”</p><p>“It hurts,” Cas replied petulantly.</p><p>“And now,” the nurse removed the needle, “It’s over. You can come get your blood pressure taken now.”</p><p>“More blood taking?” Cas’s eyebrows slanted.</p><p>“No, no,” Dean said, “She’s just gonna—“</p><p>The nurse wrapped a cuff around Cas’s forearm (it had taken some convincing for Cas to wear jeans and a t-shirt instead of his usual suit-and-trenchcoat) and Cas grimaced as it began to tighten around his arm.</p><p>Dean sighed.</p><p>Maybe Sam was right.</p><p>*****</p><p>“I hated that,” Cas said, once they were back in the Impala.</p><p>“But,” Dean said, waving the papers the doctor had given them, “Now we know you’re healthy.”</p><p>“You already knew that.”</p><p>“You nearly fainted last night,” Dean countered, putting one hand on the back of the bench seat and turning around to back up, “How about we get milkshakes?”</p><p>“I’ve never had one.”</p><p>“Well, you’re going to love them.”</p><p>They found themselves sitting in the parked car at a Sonic, with Cas inspecting the maraschino cherry on his chocolate milkshake incredulously. “They’re not like this naturally,” he said to Dean, raising an eyebrow, “Is it safe to eat?”</p><p>“I ate mine, didn’t I?” Dean said messily around his straw.</p><p>“Dean, you do things that are unsafe on a regular basis.”</p><p>“And? I’m still alive.”</p><p>Cas rolled his eyes, “That’s not the point.”</p><p>*****</p><p>For the next week, Dean convinced Cas to help him and Sam cook dinner (with mixed results), taught him the virtues of changing clothes every day, and showed him the magic of a hot shower.</p><p>Now, they were sitting the library—Sam was on a run, Dean was staring listlessly out the window, and Cas was lying on the couch, arranged in such a way that his head was upside down, his legs over the back of the couch. He was reading.</p><p>“Dean,” Cas said suddenly, startling the hunter out of his revere, “I’m bored.”</p><p>“Well we can—“ Dean turned around, “Cas, how long have you been sitting like that?”</p><p>“About ten minutes. Why?”</p><p>“You need to sit up, or else you’ll pass out. All the blood is rushing to your head.”</p><p>“But I <em>like </em>sitting like this.”</p><p>“<em>Cas.”</em></p><p>Cas huffed and sat up properly, with some difficulty, “Anyways. I’m bored.”</p><p>“We could watch TV or something.”</p><p>“No, I want to go out, I want something to do.” Cas sighed, “Without my grace, I feel…useless. Everything is way more work.”</p><p>“Welcome to being human, buddy. But you’re not useless. Maybe we can find something for you to do during the day while Sam and I work on cases?”</p><p>“Like what?”</p><p>“Hum.” Dean flipped open his laptop and began to type, “You could…..oh, here. This is perfect. C’mere.”</p><p>Cas stood up, walked behind the hunter, leaning over and putting his chin on Dean’s shoulder to look at the screen with him. Dean decided not to say anything about the whole…personal space thing. “What is it?” Cas asked.</p><p>“Lazy Acres Nursing Home….says they’re looking for volunteers.”</p><p>“I’m not a nurse, Dean.”</p><p>“I know. But that’s…nursing homes are for elderly people, Cas. Not nurses. It says here that they want people to just come talk and play games with the residents.”</p><p>“That sounds….” Cas considered it, “Nice.”</p><p>“Then I’ll sign you up.”</p><p>*****</p><p>“Is this what it feels like to drop a kid off at school for the first time?” Dean asked, after he had taken Cas to Lazy Acres a few days later.</p><p>“Didn’t know that you were into being called ‘Daddy,’ Dean,” Sam replied snarkily.</p><p>“What? Sam, gross.”</p><p>“I’m just poking fun. But seriously—proud parent is maybe not how I would describe your relationship with Cas.”</p><p>“…Then how <em>would </em>you describe it?”</p><p>“I’m not sharing,” Sam said, grinning, “Anyways. This case. Let’s get back to researching.”</p><p>*****</p><p>There was a noticeable (at least to Dean) change in Cas’s demeanor once he started spending parts of his days at the home. At dinner, he regaled the brothers with stories of the different residents—Bertha (who had two cats), James (who was a retired professor), Horace (who hated vegetables), Linda (who loved to play bridge)…….the list went on and on. Even when something bad happened, like one of the residents having an accident, a thunderstorm, or bingo being cancelled, Cas was still in bright spirits when he came home.</p><p>Dean, meanwhile, continued on his campaign to teach Cas the ways of humans—he even let Cas help him work on Baby, which caused Sam to drop his entire beer on the garage floor upon entering one night.</p><p>“Cas,” Sam said, “I don’t think Dean would be happy to see you touching—“</p><p>Dean slid out from under the car, “It’s okay, Sam, he’s helping me.”</p><p>“But you—“ Sam spluttered, “You never let me help you!”</p><p>“You know how cars work, Cas doesn’t,” Dean said.</p><p>“Likely story,” Sam muttered, leaving the garage in a huff.</p><p>“Why is Sam upset?” Cas asked.</p><p>“Because he’s a little loser,” Dean replied, sliding back under Baby.</p><p>*****</p><p>A week later, Dean and Sam’s latest case had them disguising themselves as agents to do interviews.</p><p>Dean had taken Cas to the nursing home a few hours ago, and was now standing in front of his mirror, adjusting his tie on his suit. While he thought he looked quite sharp in a suit, he didn’t always enjoy interview days—he much preferred a relaxed outfit.</p><p>Sam knocked on his door, “You decent?”</p><p>“Yeah, come in.”</p><p>“So…” Sam leaned against the now-open door, “I didn’t tell you this before, but….we’re going to be doing the interviews at Lazy Acres.”</p><p>Dean stopped short, looked at his brother, “Did you tell Cas?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“I hope he pretends not to know us, if he sees us. Otherwise it could blow our cover.”</p><p>“We might have to park a bit away, though—they’ve seen Baby nearly every day for the past month.”</p><p>Dean considered, “Yeah, that’s true. But it shouldn’t be too much of a problem, right?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>******</p><p>“Thank you for agreeing to speak with us,” Sam said, “I’m Agent Phil, and this is Agent Coulson.”</p><p>“Oh, it’s no problem,” the manager of the home began, but Dean completely tuned out the rest of what she was saying.</p><p>He had just spotted Cas, sitting by the window in the home’s massive “living room” with a group of elderly people. From Cas’s stories he somehow recognized cat-lady Bertha, who was sitting next to him. He had a cat in his lap, and he was petting it with one hand while gesturing with the other hand animatedly, clearly telling a story. The midday light fell on his lightly tanned skin just so, and as everyone began to laugh, Cas laughed, too. Dean was struck by how comfortable Cas looked, with these people, wearing a flannel and t-shirt Dean had given him…</p><p>“Agent Coulson?” Sam said, “You alright?”</p><p>“Oh, yeah,” Dean said, coughing slightly, “Just taking in the area. Agent stuff, you know.”</p><p>The rest of the interview went smoothly, and before they knew it, Dean and Sam had the info they needed and were on their way. As they were exiting the home, Dean stole another glance at Cas, who was now shuffling cards on top of the table at the center of the couches by the window, grinning as he started to deal the cards.</p><p>Suddenly, Cas glanced up, saw Dean, and locked eyes with him. A strange expression came over his face, and he looked away.</p><p>“C’mon,” Sam said, “You’re the worst.”</p><p>When they were in the Impala again, Dean turned on the ignition, “Cas looks really happy there.”</p><p>“I should have left you at home,” Sam rolled his eyes, “You couldn’t stop ogling him.”</p><p>“I wasn’t ogling anybody.”</p><p>“Dean.” Sam let out a long, laborious sigh, “I know <em>exactly </em>what’s going on. You teaching Cas all this stuff, loaning him clothes, signing him up to volunteer here, letting him work on Baby, of all things….You never let me work on Baby with you!”</p><p>“I already told you why I let him help!” Dean kept his eyes on the road.</p><p>“But that wasn’t the real reason, and you know it.”</p><p>Dean scowled and didn’t speak to his brother for the rest of the ride to the bunker.</p><p>*****</p><p>Later, back in his regular and more comfortable clothes, he pulled up in front of Lazy Acres. Cas was standing outside, his hair ruffled in the wind. Dean expected the usual barrage of stories as Cas slid in, but instead, the former angel just sullenly answered Dean’s questions with only a word or two. As soon as they pulled into the garage, Cas was out of the car.</p><p>“What’s up with feathers?” Dean asked Sam, wandering into the kitchen, “Something seems off. He’s totally different than he was this morning.”</p><p>“Why don’t you ask him?” Sam said, raising an eyebrow, “It’s the only way to find out.”</p><p>Dean sighed and plodded down the hallway to Cas’s room, raising his fist and rapping on the door, “Cas? Buddy?”</p><p>There was no response.</p><p>“You alright?”</p><p>“I’m fine,” Cas replied, his voice slightly muffled.</p><p>“Like hell you are,” Dean shoved the door open, “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Dean, I said I was fine.”</p><p>“Humans never mean ‘fine’ when they say ‘fine,’ you know that.” Dean crossed the room and sat on the edge of Cas’s bed, “Tell me what’s wrong.”</p><p>“It’s—it’s nothing.”</p><p>“Clearly not, if it made you….like this.” Dean sighed, “Just tell me, Cas.”</p><p>“I saw you and Sam working on the case today.”</p><p>“Uh-huh. It was nice to see you in your element.”</p><p>Cas shrugged, “I guess….I just….I wish I was more helpful.”</p><p>“What do you mean? You’re plenty helpful. What with your cooking and researching….you’re indispensable.”</p><p>“But I could do more! It’s just that….without my grace, I can’t help people.” And then Cas began to cry.</p><p>Dean stared at the former angel for a second, before beginning to laugh.</p><p>“Dean!” Cas scowled at him, tears streaming down his face, “This isn’t funny!”</p><p>“It’s not…stop, Cas, please don’t be mad at me…I’m not laughing at you crying, it’s just…..” Dean sighed, pulling Cas into his arms, hugging him tightly, “You don’t need your grace to help people. You’ve been helping those people at the home all this time….without your grace, just by being yourself. And you’ve helped Sam and I without your grace.”</p><p>“But you guys need me to—“</p><p>“No,” Dean cut across him, “We need you to be yourself.” He released Cas, staring at him with a smile he knew Sam would make fun of if he was here, before wiping away some of Cas’s tears gently with his thumbs, “Because you? I love you just as you are.”</p><p>“<em>I heard that!” </em>Sam said, walking past the open door. Dean could hear Sam laughing. He didn’t care, because Cas was leaning in to kiss his cheek, and he was turning his face to catch the former angel’s mouth with his own.</p><p>He could murder Sammy another time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>please tell me y'all got the marvel reference with dean and sam's agent names. I love making fun of them :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>